The Atlanta Falcons have chosen two construction firms, one of them locally based, to build the team’s planned new stadium.
A partnership between Atlanta-based Holder Construction and Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Hunt Construction Group has been selected as general contractor for the project, a Falcons official confirmed Monday.
The selection is contingent on completion of a contract and approval by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority board, said Kim Shreckengost, executive vice president of the Falcons’ parent company, AMB Group.
Holder has built a long list of Atlanta projects over its 53-year history, including the new World of Coca-Cola attraction, while Hunt has built many sports facilities around the country. Hunt’s stadium projects include the current homes of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts and Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals, among others.
The contractor choice comes amid signs of movement in efforts to purchase property needed to build the $1 billion stadium on the site preferred by the team, the GWCCA and the city. The site, immediately south of the Georgia Dome, requires buyouts of two churches, Friendship Baptist and Mount Vernon Baptist.
Lloyd Hawk, chairman of Friendship’s board of trustees, said Monday he expects a written offer from the city this week, following recent discussions between the city and the church.
“It should be here any day now,” Hawk said.
Hawk said most of the congregation seems open to negotiations, depending on the offer. He declined to say what price has been suggested or would be accepted.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s office has led the discussions with Friendship, while the GWCCA — the state agency that operates the Dome — has done so with Mount Vernon. The mayor’s office and the GWCCA declined to comment, and Mount Vernon officials could not be reached.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said Monday that the mayor “thinks he’s making substantial progress” toward a deal with Friendship. “As soon as that’s completed,” Deal said, “I think you’ll begin to see some real activity moving forward with the building of the stadium.”
Meanwhile, watchdog group Common Cause Georgia is trying to slow down the project. The group said that on Tuesday it will launch a previously announced effort to collect 35,000 signatures of city voters on a petition calling for a referendum on the partial public funding for the stadium.
Neither of the chosen construction companies responded to requests for comment Monday.
Holder and Hunt were among five finalists named last month for the general-contractor role, and the Falcons said at the time the final selection could be a combination of companies. The plan is for the stadium to open in 2017.
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